FEATURE // KEVIN DEVINE

February 1, 2015

While many people may think that it’s difficult to be friends with people within the same industry due to the competition, Kevin assures us that the competition is actually what makes an industry move, for better and for worse. “I think we all challenge and push each other to be the best possible versions of ourselves and to keep making better music than we made last time,” he elaborates. “No one wants to be the weak link creatively.” He believes that one thing that’s different now is that more people are competing for less: less money, less power, less fame. But at the end of the day, Kevin tries not to worry too much about the “numerical competition,” because “there are too many external, circumstantial factors affecting stuff like that, and I don’t think it’s the only metric of measurement available to use for judgment. Certainly not the healthiest for someone like me, anyway.”

In 2013, Devine launched a Kickstarter to help fund his two upcoming albums. Within the day, his entire goal amount had been raised. “To this point, it’s been the most transformative experience of my career,” Kevin shares.

“It was a pivot, a confirmation that the path I was cutting was working. My audience got it and supported me doing things a different way, as outside of the traditional system as possible.”

He was shocked by the overall result—reaching the goal in eight hours and doubling it over the course of the fundraiser.

When it came time to actually create the albums, the processes surrounding both were unlike anything Kevin had done in his career thus far. He set out to come up with fun, creative, and authentic ways to promote the records. Once Bulldozer and Bubblegum were released, he enjoyed being able play them all over the world to his wonderful fanbase. “The audiences obliterated my apprehensions and rewarded the risk a million times over. We actually grew through it, which I never expected,” he tells us.